


just a crush

by poalimal



Series: ★ summer love ★ [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Ableism, Alternate Universe - High School, Gen, M/M, Nervousness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-05-04 09:51:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14590410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poalimal/pseuds/poalimal
Summary: Adam Birkholtz, Justin thinks nervously, is very tall.





	just a crush

 

 

Adam Birkholtz, Justin thinks nervously, is very tall.

He sits right next to Justin in homeroom, and always comes in 20 minutes late. He never eats in the cafeteria with everyone else. On Monday mornings, when he is particularly tired, he'll bury his head in his arms, and sometimes even mumble in his sleep. They have Gym, Biology, and English together. Before today, they'd never spoken.

They still haven't spoken. Adam's stood at his locker, _looking_ at Justin, waiting for him to say something. _Anything_.

God. Are Justin's legs shaking?

'Um,' he says, 'sorry if this is--weird, haha, but I know you were out last week? Anyway, Mrs Bennett said some of last week's stuff was gonna be on the test on Friday, and I, um-- I can give you a copy of my notes? If you want? If it helps?' Where the fuck did all his declaratives go? He planned what he was gonna say, go-o-od, he's making it weird, it's too weird, ok, shut it down! Shut it down.

Adam closes his locker and turns towards him fully. Unwillingly, Justin drags his eyes up from the floor.

God. Adam's just. Really, really big. Especially his _smile_. Well. Mostly his arms. But definitely his smile!

'Wow,' says Adam. 'That's really nice of you. Hey, it's Justin, right?'

'Yea, me, I'm,' Justin laughs at himself, flustered. 'I mean, yea. That's me. I'm Justin, ha ha.' He glances at the massive fucking clock in the middle of the hallway - remember, kids, that you too are mortal  - and notes that he's gonna be late if he doesn't stop embarrassing himself soon. 'Uh, anyway, I gotta go, so if you just give me your email address in English, I can send the notes to you. Peace out.'

 _Peace out?_ He thinks, hunching his shoulders as he turns around. Did he just say 'peace out'? Why was his mouth _doing_ this to him?

'How about you just bring them over to my house?' calls Adam. Justin pauses. 'Um. Your notes, I mean. If you're not doing anything. Like. Today? I mean, not like, right after school, cus I have practice, but, like. Later? I have a car.'

Justin turns back around. Adam's smile has become a little-- nervous, maybe? 'There's, um,' he says, ducking his head, 'probably a lot I have to catch up on. Would help if I had someone nearby to run damage control.'

'Yes,' Justin breathes. He clears his throat. 'I mean, yea! Sure. No prob. Just, um. I guess. I should give you my number now. For, um. After school.'

'Definitely, yea,' says Adam, nodding his head. 'I mean, yea, it's whatever, it's cool, but I mean, like, yea.' He coughs, hands Justin his phone. 'So, like. Um, you can just put your phone in under-- and then, like, under J. Justin.' There is a pause, while Justin struggles to overcome all of his fingers abruptly becoming thumbs.

'Or under W? I guess,' Adam continues tentatively. 'Is there, um. A silent W in your name?'

'No, ha ha, shut up,' says Justin, mortified. He just told Adam to shut up. He hits Save desperately. 'I don't text well under pressure.'

The warning bell rings. Justin, because he is a huge! fucking! loser!, yelps! and tosses! Adam's _phone!!_ in the air!!! Between the two of them, they manage to trap the phone between their bodies before it hits the floor.

'I'm afraid to move,' Adam says, breathlessly.

Me too, thinks Justin, but probably not for the same reason. This is _officially_ the closest their faces have ever gotten, and that includes the time they both reached down for a pencil that fell in the aisle at the same time.

'All right, break it up, kids,' says Mr Gardner loudly, walking past them, 'remember: no P-D-A in the ha-a-ll-way!' Ugh. Hallway only has two syllables! Justin thinks meanly.  
  
But it's too late - Adam locates the phone between them quickly and disentangles himself.

'We were just--platonically hugging, sir!' Justin shouts after Mr Gardner. Nothing gay happening here, no sir. Mr Gardner waves his hand dismissively without turning back around.

'He's such a hack,' Adam mutters. 'Always forcing that extra syllable.'

'Oh my god, I know, right?' Justin says. 'He's the worst.'

Adam hasn't quite moved away yet. 'He really, really is,' he says, smiling back.

The bell rings. Both of them startle, then laugh at each other's reaction.

'I gotta--' they both say at the same time. They crack up laughing.

'Class,' Justin says. In the portables on the other side of school, he does not say.

'Band,' Adam agrees.

Wait, he's in Band? Ok, that's _definitely_ going on the spreadsheet. 'Dude, you're in band?' Justin asks. 'What do you play?'

Adam laughs, looking a little embarrassed. 'Uhh, the oboe,' he says. The _oboe_ , Justin thinks wonderingly. 'I'll tell you more about it later. After school?'

'Sure, yeah, no,' says Justin, nodding quickly. 'Schoolf.' _Schoolf_. Adam laughs out loud, so at least one of them is enjoying this. 'Um. See ya--. Later. Bye.'

'Bye,' says Adam, still smiling.

Great, thinks Justin on his way outside, trying not to think about it too much; now he's just got to figure out how to speak casually in three hours. Awesome.

 

 


End file.
